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Debra “Debbie” Beebe Survivor Tocantins

Debra “Debbie” Beebe
Age: 46
Hometown: Auburn, AL
Occupation: Middle School Principal

Debra Debbie Beebe Survivor Tocantins

CBS Bio
A self-described people person, Debra Beebe is a middle school principal and married mom from Auburn, Alabama who believes that her natural leadership abilities and tactful problem-solving skills will contribute to her success as a castaway on SURVIVOR. Debra, also known as “Bubbles,” feels that her enthusiastic and energetic personality, in addition to her take-charge attitude, will erase any doubts about her ability to succeed in this game.

The fact that she is one of the older castaways will not be a hindrance for this woman who previously trained alongside Olympic athletes and still rises every morning at 4:30AM to get in her daily workout before tackling a day filled with hundreds of pubescent teens, pre-teens, parents, faculty and staff. Not one to be intimidated (even at a tiny 5’2”), Debra juggles work, her husband and her children. It’s no surprise that this go-getter won “Alabama’s Principal of the Year” award yet still finds occasional free time for shopping and dancing.

Debra feels that her occupation has taught her how to deal with politics which she can apply to the group dynamics of her tribe. With her abilities as a natural leader combined with her bossy and competitive nature, Debra plans to focus on the weaknesses of others in an effort to get them eliminated.

Debra is married with five children and currently resides in Auburn, Ala. Her birthday is September 28.

Carolina Eastwood Survivor Tocantins

Carolina Eastwood
Age: 26
Hometown: West Hollywood, CA
Occupation: Bartender

Carolina Eastwood Survivor Tocantins

CBS Bio
Born in Panama, Carolina spent the first six years of her life living in poverty until her father, an Army solider, moved the family to the Untied States so he could have the opportunity to provide a better life for them. Despite the adversity that Carolina has faced throughout her life, she has a positive outlook and views those difficulties as learning experiences that have pushed her to become the trash-talking firecracker and SURVIVOR of life that she is today.

Three years ago, with only $250 in her pocket, Carolina made the move from Florida to Los Angeles to accomplish personal goals and to fulfill her desire to help provide for her family. Life has not been easy for this California bartender but rather than succumbing to the negative pressures, she decided to face her inner demons and live life with a positive, compassionate outlook.

Carolina describes the relationship with her mother as an emotional rollercoaster but admires the woman that was able to overcome adversity and become a self-sufficient mother of three. Her mother has shown Carolina what dreams are made of by giving her a life that would have been impossible in Panama.

While her game strategy is still a work-in-progress, Carolina knows that the lessons learned from her life experiences have provided her with tools that may get her far in this game. If she becomes the next sole SURVIVOR, Carolina plans to give back to her mother, help her brothers with school, and donate to various organizations that aid victims of rape and domestic violence.

In her free time she enjoys spending time with friends and participating in outdoor activities such as surfing, snowboarding and hiking with her dogs, Sandy and Zoe.

Carolina currently resides in West Hollywood, Calif. Her birthday is October 27.

Candace Smith Survivor Tocantins

Candace Smith
Age: 31
Hometown: Dayton, OH
Occupation: Attorney

Candace Smith Survivor Tocantins

CBS Bio
Candace Smith grew up as a tomboy and athlete, competing in soccer, basketball and track. She lacks fear or inhibition and is always ready to take on new challenges. This sexy former Miss Ohio USA has both beauty and brains, making her a real threat to her competitors.

Candace prides herself in having both book and street smarts. Growing up in the inner city of Dayton, Ohio, Candace worked hard to receive a full academic scholarship to the University of Dayton. She went on to graduate from Northwestern University School of Law and began working as a commercial real estate attorney. After becoming Miss Ohio USA, she decided to move to L.A. to pursue other aspirations, including modeling, acting and opening her own consulting firm.

Although Candace no longer practices law, she still utilizes her legal skills in everyday life. As an attorney, she mastered the skills of mental combat and knows how to create a strong bargaining position, which will certainly come in handy on SURVIVOR. Candace has also learned how to relate to many different types of people from traveling all over the world, including England, Spain and Cuba. Aside from traveling, she also enjoys running, cooking and writing. She is currently working on a book of her memoirs.

While friends describe her as resilient, funny and overall positive, she admits she is brutally honest by nature and can come across as a bitch, which may cause her problems with her tribe. Although she knows how to negotiate and be diplomatic, she has a difficult time socializing with phony people. To win this game, she knows she’ll have to be able to bite her tongue because she knows what’s at risk. A victory would help provide the children in her family with funds for education and she hopes that a strong mix of athleticism and work ethic will take her to the end.

Candace is single and currently resides in Los Angeles, Calif. Her birth date is February 1.

Brendan Synnott Survivor Tocantins

Brendan Synnott
Age: 30
Hometown: New York, NY
Occupation: Entrepreneuer

Brendan Synnott Survivor Tocantins

CBS Bio
Brendan Synnott is all about playing the game. Whether it is in front of a classroom teaching entrepreneurial success or taking part in outdoor extreme adventures, he knows how to read the odds.

Raised by a single mom in Connecticut, Brendan pulled himself up by the bootstraps to be the co-founder and CEO of Bear Naked, a natural food brand that was recently acquired by a major corporation. Despite his financial success, he is not all about the money.

Success to him, however, is about more than simply creating, building and selling a thriving business; it’s about hard work, passion, fun and surrounding yourself with the best people.

Synnott has always wanted to combine his love of the outdoors with his skills as a leader. In school, he played both football and baseball, and still stays active as much as possible. He loves to compete and says it’s a driving force, even in business. It will especially be a driving force on SURVIVOR.

Brendan is single and currently resides in Vail, Colo. His birth date is Sept. 28.

Benjamin “Coach” Wade Survivor Tocantins

Benjamin “Coach” Wade
Age: 37
Hometown: Bolivar, MO
Occupation: Soccer Coach

Benjamin Coach Wade Survivor Tocantins

CBS Bio
Benjamin Wade is known by many names. As the head women’s soccer coach at the Southwest Baptist University in Missouri, he is called “Coach Wade,” but he also goes by “Maestro” due to role as an artistic director and conductor of a California symphony orchestra. A skilled musician, Benjamin was traveling the world playing the trumpet before most kids could even spell “trumpet.”

Wade sees coaching as another form of manipulation. “You have to find out what everybody wants, what everybody needs, what they think they want, what think they need and then you have to be the person that solves everything.” He knows these skills will be valuable in the game of SURVIVOR.

If Benjamin was asked to wear just one hat, it would be that of “Renaissance Man.” Aside from setting the world record for the longest solo kayak expedition on the ocean (an amazing 6,132 miles), Wade has also been attacked by a tiger shark, stalked by a jaguar in the Amazon and has been bitten by a piranha on his right hand. To say that he is a Type A, Alpha male, who likes to control the environment around him may just be an understatement. Coach’s dominant personality will be a force to be reckoned with in the game.

Benjamin is single and currently splits his time in Bolivar, Mo, and Susanville, Calif. His birth date is September 18.

American Idol 8 Episode 1

American Idol’s back for another season. Whether that’s good or bad is subject to much debate, but here we go. Apparently, if it ain’t broke… fix it. The biggest change we’re seeing this year is the addition of a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi, who apparently was nominated for a Grammy. Like she’s not there just in case one of the other judges needs to go to rehab on vaction for a while. Of course, alongside her will be Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Ryan Seacrest, and an awful lot of people who can’t sing.

Seacrest tells us this is the biggest season ever (as usual). The first stop is Phoenix, Arizona, about 1/4 mile from the sun. They first met Jordin Sparks here.

Tuan Nguyen seems to think he’s from the 70s if his hair is any indication. For some reason he’s decided to incorporate drill team dancing with his singing. He wants to be as big as Michael Jackson and Britney Spears, who at some point in the past were indeed big. He sings The Way You Make Me Feel. I think we’ve spent enough time on him already.

Multi-colored haired Emily Hughes’ mom had to give up singing to be a mother, but Emily wants to pick up where her mom left off. She sings Barracuda by Heart. Simon likes her because she’s different. Paula says she’s probably in the top 5. She plans to ditch her band who can’t go on their European tour without her, but she plans to go the Daughtry route (uh, he dropped his original band).

Randy Madden hasn’t had any singing lessons. Since he’s crying before he gets in there, this should be dramatic. He sings Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi. Simon says his singing is wimpy. He asks for them to give him a chance, then the waterworks start. Kara tells him he hasn’t worked hard enough to make it in the industry. Although he wouldn’t have made it very far, if for no other reason than he is indeed a drama queen, he sings better than many of the people they will let through.

J.B. Ahfua sings Wake Up and Dream and gets through to Hollywood. Simon suggests he loosen up a bit, though.

It’s pretty clear Michael Gurr should not be there before he even sings. As for his singing… what the bloody hell is this? Simon doesn’t know what language that was. So, of course, they let him sing another song.

Aundre Caraway already has a stupid nickname (X-Ray). He’s got his guitar with him and sings a song about a cactus. Whether this is an actual song or not, he’s not going through to Hollywood, and unlike Michael, they don’t want him to sing another song.

16-year-old Arianna Afsar founded Adopt a Grandfriend, which puts on a performance for seniors and keeps them company. She sings Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae. She should be able to get far.

Elijah Scarlett is 22 years old, he’s from Phoenix, AZ, and… he’s 22 years old. Let’s see if the Barry White voice works for him. He sings My First, My Last, My Everything. Simon’s lack of hope for this audition was spot on. Paula suggests he do voiceovers for movies with monsters in them.

Lea Marie Golde has far too much pink on, which fits quite well with her excessive perkiness. She says she’s a cross between Hilary Duff and Madonna. Whatever that is. She’s also Kara DioGuardi’s biggest (only) fan. She sings Every Time We Touch by Cascada. Doesn’t sound that bad, but she might want to stick to writing.

Stevie Wright got her name from Stevie Nicks. She sings At Last by Etta James. Simon wants her to be more selfish, but she’s definitely good enough to go to Hollywood. Kara says that’s her favorite so far, and Paula compares her to Kelly Clarkson.

Michael Sarver is a roughneck on an oil rig, apparently the fifth most dangerous job in the world. He’s hoping to make a difference for his wife and kids. He sings a Boyz II Men and does well. Randy appreciates it more when he’s closing his eyes, but he is a likeable guy with a good voice.

Katrina Darrell, the bikini girl who’s already gotten more than her share of attention, sings Vision of Love by Mariah Carey. Simon and Randy don’t hear a note she sings. Kara wants to turn it into a sing off. Katrina tells her she’s not any better. Kara suggests that she might have more success if she didn’t bother with the bathing suit next time. Before she auditioned, Katrina warned Ryan she was going to kiss him if she got through. So he hid. She found him anyway, though, and she manages to plant one on him.

Eric Thomas has an even dumber nickname than X-Ray. He calls himself Sexual Chocolate. He sings Stevie Wonder’s Ribbon in the Sky. They’re not impressed, but apparently his mom will buy him a car because he didn’t make it.

A perky Brianna Quijada sings Let’s Hear it for the Boy by Deniece Williams. Simon tells her that her personality got her in there. She follows this up with Killing Me Softly, but Simon’s not any happier with this performance. Despite that, he agrees with Paula and lets her through.

Deanna Brown finds some strangers to be her family during the audition process. She sings Otis Redding’s Sittin on the Dock of the Bay. Her unique voice stands out to the judges.

Cody Sheldon loves making horror films. Shocker. He sings Wonderful World by James Morrison. The judges are pleasantly surprised.

Alex Wagner-Trugman (what’s up with the hyphen?) taught himself to sing in a moldy closet. He’ll sing Baby Come to Me by James Ingram if Randy sings the chorus. This song worked until Randy joined him. Simon didn’t like the audition and calls Randy ridiculous. Paula and Kara put him through to Hollywood.

Scott Macintyre was born almost completely blind, which is a driving force behind him wanting to explore music. Having entered college at 14, he hasn’t let his disability hold him back. He sings And So It Goes by Billy Joel and easily gets through to Hollywood.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another recap of American Idol 8 episode 2, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on Fox.

The Biggest Loser Couples 2 Episode 2

This year’s big (presumably lame) twist lopped the cast in half, as the 9 teams below the yellow line each sent one person home in The Biggest Loser Couples 2 Episode 1. Shannon, Sione, Laura, Aubrey, Nicole, David, Carla, Cathy, and Estella all went home, being left with merely the hope that their teammates can last 30 days to bring them back.

The people who went home are all talking about how this is a lesson that anyone can do this at home. Granted, these people have all probably tried (sorta) and failed in the past at this. As far as gameplay goes, the wise thing here would be to just not bother so they can go back and drop a bunch of weight on arrival to remain in the game. David doesn’t seem to have learned anything from his stay at the ranch, ordering hot dogs and french fries when he gets back home. At least his portions look reasonable, though.

Allison greets them with a temptation. She offers them a piece of the grand prize to step across the line. Whoever agrees to this gets $5,000. If one person steps across the line, they are speaking for their partner as well. No takers on the first offer. She ups it to $10,000. And then a final offer of $25,000. As much as they play up Joelle wanting to take the money, it’s obvious nobody is going to grab the cash.

Bob and Jillian hate week two, but Bob claims he’s over it and thinks he can produce results.

Joelle’s struggling in the gym especially. She doesn’t enjoy being there and doesn’t hide it. If she doesn’t pick it up, she’ll have passed on the $25k for nothing. Meanwhile, it becomes more and more clear that she should have let Carla stay like she wanted. Should Joelle get eliminated, she might want to consider hiring a bodyguard to protect herself from Carla.

The challenge is to race sea kayaks and then climb a mountain on foot. Reward is immunity at the weigh-in and a phone call home. Second, third, and fourth place will also get the call. The last person to cross the finish line will be penalized with a one pound disadvantage. Dane and Ron will sit out for the teams with two people each (Blaine and Mike will sit out next week). Blaine takes the lead to start off with and retains it to shore. Helen’s doing surprisingly well and is keeping pretty close to him. Tara manages to pass her and is on Blaine’s heels. Mandi and Mike lead the middle of the pack. Kristin, Jerry, Dan, and Joelle follow them. On the way up the mountain, Blaine’s still in the lead, but Tara makes a move and passes him in the final stretch. He thinks he’s going to be able to catch up if he catches his breath a bit, but Tara ends up winning the challenge. A sore Blaine still gets the phone call home. Mandi comes in third, and the last phone call home goes to Helen. Mike is fifth. Damien is behind him. Kristin takes seventh, with Joelle in eighth and Filipe in ninth. The battle for last is between Dan and Jerry. Jerry crosses the finish line in tenth. Dan gets hit with the one pound penalty, but he still continues and manages to cross the finish line with the support of the others. Tara offers her phone call to Filipe.

Filipe tells his wife he’s down to using his inhaler every few days. Blaine uses his call home to talk to his wife, whose due date is right around the corner. Helen calls Shannon with her only phone call (like jail).

Jillian’s a little nutty in the last chance workout. She stacks about 600 pounds for Dane to leg press, then she has Blaine hop on top of the thing to make it more of a challenge. She’s impressed with Jerry’s heart but is concerned that he doesn’t have the stamina to keep up with the others. Dan manages to get up to 7 miles an hour on the treadmill, mostly because he wants Jillian to keep bumping up the speed so he can knock off the extra pound.

Joelle’s plan is to fake it until she makes it. That won’t fly with Bob. She keeps jumping off the treadmill every time at 20 seconds, which causes Bob to swear repeatedly. Jillian says she’s never seen him that mad before. After a lot of yelling that indicates Bob may quite possibly need a cruise or a massage, he has them start up again. This time Joelle makes it to 25 seconds instead of 30. He tells her to “shut the **** up” after this. Jillian’s team is happy to see Bob falling apart. After another uncomfortable to watch rant, we see Joelle hit the 30 second mark, but she doesn’t look overly happy about it.

It’s time for the weigh-in, which will be done in the order in which they completed the challenge.

Tara: 272 pounds (-1, 0.36%)

Good thing she’s immune.

Blaine: 335 pounds (-16, 4.56%)
Dane: 378 pounds (-14, 3.57%)
Total: 713 pounds (-30, 4.04%)

Mandi: 245 pounds (-6, 2.39%)

Helen: 237 pounds (-8, 3.27%)

Mike: 359 pounds (-7, 1.91%)
Ron: 386 pounds (-12, 3.01%)
Total: 745 pounds (-19, 2.49%)

Damien: 355 pounds (-9, 2.47%)

Kristin: 331 pounds (-10, 2.93%)

Filipe: 338 pounds (-9, 2.59%)

Joelle: 294 pounds (-2, 0.68%)

Jerry: 343 pounds (-1, 0.29%)

Dan: 421 pounds (-3, +1, 0.47%)

The challenge played a huge impact here. Had Tara not won immunity or had Dan not come in last, Dan would not be below the yellow line. Alongside him is the other person with the most desperate need to be there, Jerry. As for Joelle, she just barely limped through the week, and she knows it. Ron has a message for the others. Jerry can get back to his wedding weight, but Dan needs to be there because if he doesn’t, he’ll never lose the weight and keep it off. Despite a few hiccups, this was a pretty successful week two overall.

Kristin: Jerry
Filipe: Jerry
Damien: Jerry
Tara: Jerry
Ron: Jerry

Following an emotional vote, Jerry (and his wife Estella) has been eliminated so that the heaviest contestant ever can continue his journey. He wants all the seniors out there to get off the sofa and get going. He’s down from his starting weight of 369 pounds to 285 today. He’s no longer got diabetes or any of his other diseases from before. Estella is now down below 200 pounds from her starting weight of 242.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Biggest Loser 7 Episode 3, which airs Tuesday at 8/7c on NBC.

The Bachelor 13 Episode 2

Following his lucky break of being rejected by DeAnna, Jason Mesnick returned to turn the tables and get his pick of 25 women. For some not entirely clear reasons he weeded out 10 of them in The Bachelor 13 Episode 1 to start things off.

Ty’s brief stay at the house is over. Not sure what the point of that was, but he’s heading back to Seattle for a couple weeks.

Unlike The Bachelorette 4’s year too late Apprentice LA ripoff, the girls will all be living at the mansion as usual.

A new twist this season is that not everybody will be going on a date with Jason every week. Half the girls don’t typically get to know the bachelor at all. This should increase that problem even further.

Jason stops by the house to surprise the girls. After a few words, his first stop is Megan, who the others decided they hated. He tells her she would have gotten a rose anyways.

Jillian manages to impress Jason by having a fun conversation with him. Shannon is looking for a gropefest, followed by an attempt to convince him she’s ready to be a mother.

While Jason’s talking with Nikki, the others bring a rose left by Chris. Jason will have to decide who to give it to, and that person will get a one on one date. He decides to put it away for now.

The pool party quickly becomes a competition to see who can get the most time with Jason, who they don’t expect will be able to talk to everybody, further complicated by not being able to date everybody either.

As the day winds down, Jason decides to give the rose to Jillian. They’re heading off on their date right away. So Natalie runs into the bathroom and cries.

Their date is at the world famous Disney Hall (I’ve never heard of it, but Jason tells us it’s world famous). Waiting inside the concert hall for them is fellow Canadian Robin Thicke, the son of the guy from Growing Pains. This provides the opportunity for some slow dancing and kissing.

Melissa will be getting the other one-on-one date. Not one to celebrate for long, she gets herself all worked up about Jillian’s date. She pulls herself together, though, and she and Jason go to the beach for their date. This former cheerleader tells Jason what he wants to hear. Her goal is to be a first grade teacher so she can be with kids all day. With some help from the Goodyear Blimp driver, she manages to not so subtly force Jason to kiss her. Then they get to go on the blimp themselves. The blimp ride ends with a rose and some more kissing.

Natalie, Erica, Naomi, Nikki, Lauren, Kari, Sharon, and Molly get the group date. That leaves Megan, Raquel, Stephanie, Shannon, and Lisa dateless.

The group date starts with shopping for a new outfit. Naomi likes that Jason (aka ABC) is treating them very well. From there they head to a hotel. When asked what he’s looking for, he says he has something to get out of his system before marriage. Apparently that something is dating 25 women at once. The girls take advantage of the hotel having a pool and hop in their bikinis. Molly pulls Jason aside and tells him that the talent he should remember her for is kissing. Rather than slapping her upside the head for such a cheesy line, he gives her the okay to show this “talent.” Since they’re kissing right in front of all the other girls, Natalie points it out. Nikki’s not happy about this. She doesn’t want to hear about how other people in the house are kissing Jason. Just wait until they go on the overnight dates. She warns Jason that the girls are catty and two faced. Then Naomi drags him away and works on getting a longer kiss than Molly. Jason’s not shy about kissing everybody whose lips he falls into. At the end of the date, Molly gets the rose.

Not content with the lack of a date, Raquel hops into Jason’s car to surprise him as he’s saying goodbye to the other girls. What they talked about is unclear, but it doesn’t look like she helped her odds any.

At the cocktail party, Erica says she doesn’t like that she was the only one at the hotel who didn’t get to spend any time with him. Lauren doesn’t think Jason’s interested in her. Shannon’s still a stalker.

Lisa (who?) has decided that she shouldn’t have come on the show at all, and she’s going home to be with her sick grandmother.

Megan’s attempting to get some time alone with Jason, which is interrupted by the already safe Molly. The other girls are no more happy with her than Megan is. Somehow, this leads to how Erica and Megan hate each other. Erica brings up that this is the reason why they all voted for her the first night. The fact that Erica received the second most votes isn’t lost on Megan, though Erica says that her votes were because she’s a threat. Thanks for clearing that up.

Roses
Jillian (first date)
Melissa (one-on-one date)
Molly (group date)
Megan
Nikki
Lauren
Naomi
Stephanie
Kari
Natalie
Shannon
Erica

Sharon and Raquel have been eliminated. Sharon’s the one who quit her job to be here. Raquel’s strange decision to go after Jason in his car was apparently the final nail for her coffin.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Bachelor 13 Episode 3, which airs Monday at 8/7c on ABC.